THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite the High Court directive prohibiting mass agitations in the state in the wake of Covid-19 spread, as many as 30 PSC rankholders for the post of civil police officers staged a sit-in in front of Secretariat wearing PPE kits on Monday. However, the protest lasted only for five minutes after the police took a total of 18 rankholders into custody while the rest ran away fearing police action.
The rankholders clad fully in PPE kits reached in front of Secretariat around 11.30 am holding a banner to allow extension of the validity of the ranklist at least by eight months due to the virus spread. They sat on the road maintaining physical distance nearby a posse of cops from Cantonment police station.
The protesters were unrelenting to disperse despite the Station House Officer’s request. When the officer told them that if they were charged with any police case, it would affect their prospects for appointment, the agitators requested to give them five more minutes to explain their grievances. However, the police did not permit it and took the frontline protesters into custody and later granted bail.